Noted left-leaning sports writer Jeff Pearlman said Tuesday that four women on a Fox News panel were dressed like prostitutes, prompting an angry backlash that forced him to backtrack and issue a half-hearted apology.
“Serious question: do women on Fox News get extra money for dressing as hookers? Just embarrassing,” he said on Twitter.
The show to which he was referring, “Outnumbered,” was hosted Tuesday by Harris Faulkner, Meghan McCain, Melissa Francis and Andrea Tantaros. Geraldo Rivera appeared as a guest.
This is not the first time that he has used Twitter to complain about the wardrobe choices of women on Fox News. He has also suggested in the past that women on the cable news network are hired for the sole reason that they’re attractive.
Pearlman, who has authored several sports books, including The Rocket That Fell to Earth and The Bad Guys Won, later clarified his meaning Tuesday afternoon, explaining that he didn’t mean to say that the women actually looked like prostitutes.
“Let me re-phrase: are tons of women journalists busting asses w skill, doggedness, professionalism. Fox News CLEARLY after looks, wardrobe,” he said, adding, “Just fed up w objectification of women in media. It’s tired, old, widespread, not cool.”
That didn’t help him any, though, as angry social media users weighed in on his original tweet, which he later deleted.
“Ok, I admit, bad Tweet, removed. I just really object to Fox News’ approach. But that’s not the on-air person’s fault,” he said later. “Well, today’s turning into a wonderful one on Twitter. Sometimes you just gotta’ shut up and take your lumps.”
Pearlman courted similar controversy in 2010 when he penned a blog post attacking an NFL quarterback for being an outspoken Christian.
“Tim Tebow scares me, and … he should scare you, too,” he wrote. “Tim Tebow doesn’t play football merely for the joy of the game. He plays football because he wants to spread the word of Jesus Christ. But not merely spread it. He wants you to accept it and, if you don’t embrace it, he wants you to think again about embracing it.”
“If, in the end, you’re still not sold, you will burn in hell. This is not merely Tim Tebow’s opinion, but he knows it, in his soul and heart and mind. Christians who accept Jesus will spend an eternity in bliss. Those who don’t are doomed,” he added. “I call it f***ing insanity.”
